Hemline flap prompts 2nd homecoming dance in Utah

STANSBURY PARK, Utah (AP) – A Utah high school threw a second homecoming dance for students after it turned away about two dozen girls last month because their dresses were deemed too short.

Friday night’s dance was held as a goodwill gesture after many students ended up not going to the first one when their dates and friends were barred from entering. The school’s homecoming queen was among those turned away.

Stansbury High School principal Kendall Topham had earlier apologized to angry students and parents, saying the dress code should have been made clearer.

The school’s handbook states that dresses for formal events should be “at or near knee length.” For the second dance, officials at the school 25 miles west of Salt Lake City said dresses could go 3 inches above the knee.

Michelle Gubler said she and other students vividly remember how upsetting the night was last month.

“I was having to watch all my friends get turned away for something that shouldn’t have been such a huge problem, and watched that night that was supposed to be so great and memorable go down right in front of me,” she told KSL just before Friday’s dance.

Gubler said many of her classmates set out to make Friday’s dance just another fun night. Not everyone approached it as a substitute for the homecoming dance, she said.

“It’s not really something you can replace, but it’s a small way you can make it up,” she said.

(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)